Special Report, Part 3: Central Oregon Motors LLC under FBI investigation; another victim speaks out
Matthew Draxton's latest report airs tonight on NewsChannel 21
PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Last month, NewsChannel 21 reported claims involving a car dealership in Prineville allegedly scamming customers. Tonight: new details to share, including word of an FBI investigation.
"Being such a small community in Prineville, Central Oregon, everyone should trust each other," said Austin Parr, a former customer of Central Oregon Motors LLC. "In this, situation, being a veteran, I think that was kind of taken advantage of."
Parr is one of the latest alleged victims to come forward, having lost $11,000 after having issues with a 2017 Ford F-150 he bought from Mike Smetzer of Central Oregon Motors LLC.
"The vehicle was sold, saying that it had a clean bill of sale and everything, and everything checked out. But then in reality, it didn't," Parr said.
After the purchase, he noticed many issues, including leaking oil that was not addressed on the initial inspection.
"The truck almost left myself and my family stranded on the side of the road," Parr said. "And so he (Smetzer) said, 'Hey, I've got another vehicle that should be roughly the same value."
The other vehicle was a 2010 Dodge 2500.
“It was a little bit older, was a different style, more of a farming ranch-style truck with a flatbed, local suspension company, manual transmission, some of these things that that sound good and sound like they do add value," Parr said.
Parr said he came to realize the Dodge had been grossly undervalued. Having first attempted to sell the vehicle at the price he bought it for, there was no interest forcing him to sell at market value.
“He (Smetzer) was very confident, with that other vehicle that we did a straight trade, that it was an equal value. And I trusted him on that, because I'm thinking, 'Hey, this guy's doing me a solid, right?'"
Smetzer is now being investigated by the FBI, according to latest reports in the Prineville Review. We reached out to the FBI field office in Bend and Portland requesting confirmation, but did not hear back. NewsChannel 21 also reached out to Crook County District Attorney Kari Hathorn requesting confirmation of FBI involvement.
Hathorn responded, saying, “It is premature to comment further on a pending investigation. It is important to allow the investigators to complete a thorough and complete investigation.”
Parr said, “I hope the legal process works appropriately and that obviously there's justice for the families and customers that have been wronged."
The Prineville Police Department did also respond to a request for comment on initial handling of the case and confirmation of FBI involvement. Lieutenant Shane Wilson said, "This is a large and complex case to which investigators immediately started investigating. They've worked with agencies, to include the FBI and attorney's office."
We reached out to Smetzer’s lawyer, Jim Boness with Intellequity Legal Services, for comment, to which he said, “The situation is not as it appears at first glance” and that the “downturn in the used car market” and “predatory lending practices” led to "financial difficulties at Central Oregon Motors."
He continued, “Michael is and has been working diligently … to ensure that finical damages … are remedied.”
Parr said, “Trust can be broken a lot faster than trust can be built, so hopefully everyone can learn from this situation.”
NewsChannel 21 has also had more alleged victims come forward, including one man who lost almost $30,000 in an exchange with Smetzer. NewsChannel 21 will keep you updated as the story unfolds further.
